StM News

Elizabeth “Betsy” Gayle Fox ’82

• Attended StM from 7th through 12th grade
• Daughter of the Rev. William Gedge Gayle, rector of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church and member of the St. Martin’s Board of Trustees for 26 years, serving as president for 1984-85. 
• Sister of Stuart Gayle ’84
• Middle School English Teacher (7th and 8th) and Religion Teacher (5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th) 

Talk about the classes and teachers who stand out the most in your memory.

I came to St. Martin’s in Middle School, in the 7th grade, and I remember being way behind in grammar. Coming from a public school in Georgia, and then having Eileen Beckman, was something! I remember she gave me extra work over Christmas break, in adverbs, specifically. She was an amazing teacher, but I don't think I thought that over that particular Christmas break! I also remember our class’ 8th grade trip to Y.O. Ranch in Kerrville, Texas. We took the train, and I remember playing cards on the trip with Bill Rosenbaum, who was our Social Studies teacher at the time. It was special that he moved up to the Upper School, and I had him again my senior year for Psychology.

So many teachers stand out in my memories. My senior year, I remember, I took one semester of Shakespeare’s comedies and one on tragedies with June Wells. I’ll never forget how Wayne Lumpkin could turn one hand hot and one hand cold! I had Rex Mooney; he was our History teacher and College Counselor. I remember that Warren Lind was completing his student teaching in my Zoology class when I was in 9th grade. I had Jim Marsalis for Algebra II, and I did pretty well. I can’t forget Jane Schmidt, our Upper School administrative assistant. We all loved her and called her “Aunt Jane”! I could go on and on.

I was really into the arts as a student; I loved Carole Lawrence’s dance classes and being a part of the performances. I remember I played Frenchy in Grease, and Ado Annie in Oklahoma under Mrs. Lawrence’s direction. I also loved drama classes, and pottery and art with Carolyn Boone and Shirley Timmrick.

Talk about what led you to Sewanee, and to choose Religion as your major. 

I majored in Religion, with a concentration on English and Art History, and the focus on writing and language really appealed to me. The Episcopal tradition obviously has deep roots in my family, but I never dreamed that I would major in religion, but I loved it. Religion and philosophy fascinated me, and they still do. Religion has affected everyone, whether they turn away from it or embrace it. I do believe that studying religion helps one understand others better. We are all human beings, and our commonalities far outweigh our differences. 

Something else that stood out at Sewanee was the importance of the Honor Code. It was, and still is, a huge focus here at St. Martin’s as well, and it made a real impact on me. I feel very lucky to have attended two schools with such a strong emphasis on honor. St. Martin’s is a community where we can trust one another to live and behave honorably.  Knowing our honor code exists makes us stop and think about doing the right thing. It shaped me and I believe it’s why I am who I am.

How did it feel to return to campus to become a teacher at St. Martin’s?

Being back on campus was so nostalgic! It’s special to be back in the same classrooms, walking the same hallways. When I first started working here, all I could think about was how my classmate Parker Roy ’82 would sing “Brick House” as he walked (well, ran!) down the Middle School hallway! I first returned to St. Martin’s during the 1987-88 school year, to teach Religion in the Middle School, and I also served as the Middle School Chaplain. I loved it! But I only taught one year because I left to pursue my Master’s in Education. Life took me to New Mexico and to North Carolina, but then I returned for the 2019-20 school year because I wanted to move back home to return to my family. 

What do you enjoy most about teaching Middle School?

Well, for one thing, the students make me laugh; they crack me up, and they keep me feeling young. This is the first year that I’ve taught all Middle School grades in Religion. We focus on the Hebrew Scriptures in fifth grade, and study the New Testament in sixth, then church history in seventh, and finally, world religions in eighth grade. I enjoy witnessing them starting to think about what they believe in, as well as seeing them begin to develop empathy for other people and other cultures. 

I also teach seventh and eighth grade English. Both years we focus on social issue elements with a mixture of fiction and nonfiction stories that explore religious and racial differences, and we take a cross-curricular focus with what they’re learning in American History as well. In addition, I teach Shakespeare in both grades. I love being the first one to teach them Shakespeare; it’s fun. They think it’s going to be so hard at first, and I love watching them realize that they actually do get it!

You are the new president of the Alumni Council. What are your plans for this group and how would you like to see more alumni get involved? 

I have always enjoyed being a pretty involved alumna; I remember when I first graduated, a group of us would come back to the Martin Family Library and host a phone tree. We’d call our old classmates to catch up and then, of course, ask them to donate to the school! Even when I moved away, I would still try to stay in touch and give back. Patti Riess Micklin was our class agent forever, then I took over when I moved back and started teaching here a few years ago. I have always tried to keep a core group of classmates together. We celebrate birthdays and milestones together and even travel across the country to stay in touch. 

Alumni Weekend has always been a favorite of mine, and I really love the Spirits Party. I want to do more events that take place over a whole weekend. Alumni Chapel and the tours on Friday were wonderful; we even had a group stay to eat lunch on campus! This year’s Alumni Weekend was particularly special - I celebrated my 60th birthday the day of the Spirits Party, which was great because I was able to be with family and so many classmates. 

I also really enjoy Fall Fellowship. This past year, I worked with the class of ’73 to help them extend their reunion, which they started during Alumni Weekend 2023, into Homecoming weekend. This is a great model and I want to try to invite more classes to do this. 

The Alumni Council has been reaching out to alumni across all decades and encouraging more people to be involved with the school and the many activities we have. One of my main goals in this role is to help re-engage our newest alumni, and get more of these young Saints back to campus. I want to help our younger alumni feel how special it is to come back here and reconnect with the school and fellow classmates. For example, with the class of ’82, I might not see my classmates for years, but we can easily pick up right where we left off like it’s been no time at all. Even though we went off to college and had different life experiences, we stayed connected. When you’ve known someone’s youth, you have a closeness and comfort with them. It’s a different connection from what you have with your college friends or work buddies. It’s just so special because we grew up together. 

What I want our alumni to know is that we all share something special. We all have that same feeling of connectedness, as Saints, despite graduating years apart. “Always a Saint!”